


Hope

by maulsscream



Category: Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003) - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst and Feels, Enemies to Friends, F/M, Maulsoka, Sad Ending, Unhappy Ending, i am warning you its not a fun ride, maul has a change of heart, sorta - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:20:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24018892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maulsscream/pseuds/maulsscream
Summary: My second ret-con of TCW season 7 finale. We know we all wanted them to work together.There is a gap. A moment in which neither of them know what to say, but they know what to do. The fate of the galaxy is on their shoulders.
Relationships: Darth Maul & Ahsoka Tano
Comments: 2
Kudos: 45





	Hope

Ahsoka had sent Maul to his death. She could never have brought herself to inflict the kind of atrocities Maul was unleashing upon the clones. They had been her friends, all of them. By not providing the former Sith with a weapon, she had hoped to even the fight if only a little. Still her conscience didn’t feel clear. She felt sullied by the implications of the _chaos_ she had asked for.

As she made her way down the hallways with caution, she clearly understood just how much she had doomed her troopers. It was what Maul had been raised to do after all. He was an unrelenting killing machine on a mission. If the scene in front of her was to draw any conclusion, it was that it had been a slaughter. The clones had stood no chance against him. They had been decimated.

She walked across dismembered bodies, a feeling of darkness overtaking her. She had been witness to the horrors of war. She had been victim to it. This was different. This reeked of carnage and destruction. There was no necessary evil in what she saw.

The people she had called friends minutes ago were laying dead on the floor, limbs scattered across the hallway. She was thankful that their helmets were still on. It was hard enough having to deal with their betrayal, even if she knew how blameless they were, she didn’t want to add insult to injury by having to take their death in one by one. _They were casualties of war nothing more_ , she reminded herself.

She reached another corridor and halted. Rex was right behind her as he always had been, making sure they were covered on all sides. He didn’t trust the renegade to not kill everyone, Rex and Ahsoka included.

“Maul?”

Her voice ringed in his ears. She sounded surprised to find him slumped over a wall but still standing. He was aware of what her words had truly meant when they had parted ways. She wanted him dead, just as much as the rest of them. Whether he survived the battalion of clones was none of her concerns. She had needed him to clear the way for her escape and he had done exactly as she had ordered. Perhaps he was hoping for her to see his value as an ally so that they could survive this. Clearly they couldn’t do it alone.

Maul sank down to his knees on the floor as Ahsoka rushed to his side, kneeling down as well. She could see he was wounded. The injury wouldn’t be fatal and knowing Maul he could recover from it. He had recovered from behind cut in half. This was merely a blaster shot to the chest. Still, if they didn’t bring him to the med bay, he would have been picked off by clones easily. Right now, he was their only chance to escape alive.

“Can you walk?”, Ahsoka asked.

There was no concern or care in her voice. Maul scoffed, causing him to go into a coughing fit. Out of pure spite, the former Sith tried to stand but quickly fell into her arms. Could he walk? _Ridiculous_ … Pain was simply a state of mind that he didn’t even register anymore.

“I’m fine.”, Maul hissed.

He wasn’t. As Ahsoka took hold of his side she could feel a warm wetness dripping down through her fingers. There was no doubt in it, he was bleeding. Upon further inspection she saw that a piece of metal had lodge itself in between Maul’s ribs. The cut seemed to run deep enough to make him hack up blood again.

“Rex, make sure the way to the medbay is clear.”, Ahsoka instructed.

Maul glared down at her. He didn’t need to be coddled like a child. Especially not by someone who didn’t care if he lived or died unless he was useful in doing either. Why was she trying to save him when he was clearly a lost cause? He would only slow her down. One of them had to survive and it was not going to be him. He had resigned himself to his faith.

“You have to go. Now.”, Maul groaned.

“I’m not leaving you.”

So she had changed her mind. Ahsoka was aware that Maul was her ticket out off of that ship. She needed someone to hold off the clones while her and Rex jumped on an escape pod. And Maul had just proven himself to be a more than valuable meat shield, if nothing else.

Ahsoka tossed Maul’s arm across her shoulder. He was ridiculously heavy and massive, something she hadn’t accounted for. If they were to make it back in time, they’d need to hurry. She could tell he was trying his best not to be a burden and was carrying most of his own weight while holding his bleeding side. It was a true testament to his strength. With the injuries he had sustained, Ahsoka wondered how the Sith was still conscious enough to talk. Let alone do it while making sense.

“Don’t waste your time. You and I both know I will only slow down your escape. You need to hurry.”

After all she had said to him, Maul was still trying to help her. This time felt different. He had nothing to gain by telling her to abandon him there and flee. It wasn’t his style to be selfless. Perhaps what they had felt in the Force had given him a change of heart.

Ahsoka didn’t even reply to whatever rambling were coming out of his mouth, too busy focusing on dragging herself back to the medbay where the trio of droids still were. With the help of Rex, she loaded the Zabrak onto the table. One astromech guarded the door while two others were running diagnostics.

Maul grabbed her hand tightly as she moved to set up his surgery. Kriff knew what she was going to find out about his anatomy and all the modifications he had suffered over the years. But this wasn’t what concerned the former Sith. There was a beat were they stared at each other.

“Lady Tano, a favour please.”

She cast a glance to Rex who got the hint. This was a private conversation. The trooped took a few paces towards the door, his back turned to them. Ahsoka leaned in closer to Maul who had a resigned look in his eyes. There was no doubt about it, he had seen death before. It didn’t scare him. She wondered if anything in his life had ever truly frightened him.

“I’m going to do my best to fix your injuries so that we can–”

“In case you don’t…”, Maul interrupted.

He could tell the former Padawan was talking to reassure herself rather than him. She had a wild look in her eyes, panic settling in. She was scrambling to hold to the old world she knew where she needed to save everyone. This had never been Maul’s reality. Death was inevitable and welcomed if the time was right and enemy was worthy. But to a Jedi, the lack of control and certainty created a void where she couldn’t even trust the Force to guide her.

“Destroy the ship. There can be no trail left for him to follow.”

His grip on her hand tightened and Ahsoka brought her other hand to hold his. It was a strange act of comfort but she simply couldn’t help herself. He was a being in pain and against her own judgement and instincts, he deserved a chance… maybe. He had proved himself to be useful and even when he had had no reason to follow her orders, he had done as he was told. If anything were to happen to Rex, Maul would be her only reliable ally on that ship. She knew she couldn’t lose that.

She also knew that Maul wasn’t talking about the trooper in the room. If she was to be hunted down after her escape, it would be by Darth Sidious and his new army. The only mention of that name had terrorised the former Sith down in the tunnels of Mandalore. Only he knew what he was truly capable of.

Maul didn’t let go of her hand throughout the procedure. It wasn’t so much for comfort as it was for assurance that she wouldn’t terminate him on the spot. He could feel her energy through the Force linked them together. It was an unspoken understanding. They could guess each other’s intentions and how desperately they wanted to survive. Maul reached out to her and it took Ahsoka a moment to decide wether she wanted to respond to his call or not. _Yes_.

He rose from the table with a snarl, stretching his side. Ahsoka stepped back and observed. She had concerns about teaming up with someone like Maul and it read on her face. But what choice did she have? She was incapable of ploughing through squads of clones as he had, it wasn’t her style. They’d have to rely on each other.

“Lead the way.”, he said as his hand extended towards Rex and the corridor before them. 

None of them had a good feeling about heading back out there. Who knew how many clones were still out there, hunting them down? Were they planning an ambush? The way to the escape pods wasn’t an entirely straight line and they would have to trust each other not to get slaughtered.

They made their way through quietly and rather unbothered by any troopers. Maul and Ahsoka exchanged looks. Something was up. As they reached the hangar, it all made sense.

Blaster shots were coming at them reluctantly, barely giving them a chance to strategise about their best option. Maul had his back to Ahsoka’s while Rex was flanking them. They deflected as much as possible but it was clear that they were outgunned and outmatched. The clones had had time to set up their ambush. Ahsoka felt glad that she had her back turned and didn’t have to witness whatever Maul was doing to the them. She could only hear shouts and bones being crushed underneath their armours as their bodies got tossed against the walls of the hangar. Maul grunted as he took another blaster bolt to the shoulder, only enhancing the anger and speed with which he fought. Ahsoka could feel his presence in the force, shrouded with darkness. He was almost having fun.

“This way!”

She shouted and the three of them broke from the troopers swarming them. They weaved through shots fired in every direction as they reached the other side of the docking bay. The escape pods were right there, two of them still locked into their compartments. They were so close!

Maul was sealed the doors behind them, clenching his fist and causing the metal to bend on itself. It wouldn’t hold them off for long. He could already hear them trying to break down the door. Maul turned around slowly to observe Ahsoka who was scrambling to unlock the pods.

Her hands were shaking, her aura unsettled. She stopped as if she’d been hit by a freighter. She was drowning in her own panic while Maul had never been so calm in his life. There was no longer rage and anger in his eyes when they locked with her. He knew what he had to do.

“May the Force be with you, Ahsoka Tano.”

His arm rose and before she had time to shout at him to stop, Maul had force-pushed her into the pod. The door blasted open in a flash of light and dust.

The last thing she saw as she tripped into an escape pod and onto Rex was Maul looking back over his shoulder at her, his hands outstretched in front of him while pushing back an onslaught of clones.

Ahsoka remembered his words. They swirled in her head. She owed him as much for saving their lives.

 _Destroy the ship_.


End file.
